Arvandor
“In the world of mortals, sages and poets speak rapturously of the eternal glories of Arvandor, the fragrant breezes of its flower- and tree-strewn wilderness, and the endless revelries of the Court of the Seldarine. “The skalds and sages who prattle on about these glories are usually neither elves nor eladrin, and not even well-informed worshipers of Corellon and Sehanine. Perfect beauty and unceasing leisure are human ideas of heaven. Those who fully understand Corellon and Sehanine, the original gods of the Feywild, know that their heaven couldn't be that simple. “It's true that the gods of Arvandor have created an amazing realm: a place of awesome beauty and heartstopping rapture fit for powerful gods of love, beauty, arcane magic, the wilderness, and freedom. It's also a place fraught with constant danger, wild battle, and the call for valor. Unlike the sheltered aesthetes of the mortal world, Corellon understands that beauty means more when it must be protected from horror, and unlike foolish romantics, Sehanine understands that love means more when it's hard earned and bears the risk of loss. “Three great events shaped the realm of Arvandor and the destinies of all who come to dwell within it: the destruction of the original fey pantheon, Sehanine and Corellon’s subsequent emergence as universal gods instead of being gods only for the fey, and the pair’s leadership in the dissent against the Carceri Compact that created the prison of the gods. The Arvandor that has been reshaped in the wake of these events is a deeper world that is a testament to the manner in which some gods have reinvented themselves in the shattered heavens after the tragedies of the Dawn War.”Heinsoo, R., A. Marmell, and E. S. De Bie. 2010. “Divine Dominions.” In The Plane Above, 37–38. Wizards of the Coast. Triune Harmony Lost “Before the Dawn War began, Corellon and Sehanine spent their time beside their sister-god Lolth; the three deities headed the fey pantheon, and their power was unchallenged. Sehanine was wise and as changeable as the shifting moon, Lolth was quick and as unflinching as fallen night, and Corellon shone like the stars. He created the mortal fey from his tears of sorrow, beauty, and mirth — all qualities that the fey love. Most of his tears were those of laughter, whether brought on by an arcing leap performed by Sehanine or by a cutting jest offered by Lolth. “Together the three gods shared a life to which most gods (much less mortals) can only aspire, in which acts of compassion and trust alternated with those of power and splendor. Sometimes the laughter was dark and mocking, but more often it was heartfelt and true. Insofar as was possible, the chosen people of the three fey deities (a race that would eventually become the elves, the eladrin, and the drow) followed their gods’ example, living in a rapturous dream that balanced control and desire, adventure and harmony. “The fey deities spent little time in the astral dominions before the Dawn War. Insulated in the Feywild, they experienced time differently from how the other gods did, so when the war began, they were slow to react. What the other gods experienced as an invasion and the destruction of the Lattice of Heaven came to the ears of Corellon, Sehanine, and Lolth as mere rumors of violence. The Dawn War was being fought in earnest, but the Feywild still functioned as the timeless echo of a world that had not yet spiraled into chaos. Lolth, however, saw opportunity in the Dawn War that her companion deities did not. “The Astral Sea was changing, and the fey deities’ triune harmony was not to last. Even Corellon and Sehanine cannot say whether it was the Dawn War that changed Lolth or if she had always thought differently. Lolth’s rebellion is distorted by too many shadows and echoes for anyone to be certain about her earliest act of treachery. Did she consort with demons before she tried to elevate her dark-skinned drow over the other members of the race? Did she try to kill Sehanine first, or Corellon? The best-known version of the story is that Lolth nearly killed Corellon before he realized that her attack was not one of her usual dark jokes. Sehanine intervened and saved Corellon’s life, but Lolth escaped. “Whatever its chronology of treachery, Lolth’s war upon the Feywild was synchronized with the war in the Astral Sea: The Lattice of Heaven was shattered, the half-constructed dominion of Arvandor (meant as a pleasurable retreat for the three deities of the fey) was ruined, and in the Feywild, Lolth’s children — the drow — razed the cities of the eladrin and the shadowed forests around them. Thus, Corellon, Sehanine, and their people fought two wars at once in the era of legend. The war in the Feywild ended when Lolth fled into the earth, taking her drow into the Underdark and out of thought of those who remained on the surface. At the same time, Corellon and Sehanine, as well as Lolth, fought in the Dawn War alongside the rest of the gods out of necessity, and in doing so they transformed themselves into universal deities.” Gods of All Races “As Corellon and Sehanine fought beside the other gods and came to know them and their mortal people, Sehanine realized that mortals other than their own chosen fey might deserve love and attention. Corellon was slower to see her side, but her earnestness quickly swayed him — that, and the beauty he came to see in the nonfey races. In the middle of the war, from the vantage point of the Astral Sea, Corellon and Sehanine learned what they could of the other mortals. The universe opened to them like a bloom in spring, and they took mortal form to explore it — not the petal where they had lived (the Feywild), but the mortal world at the center of the flower. They moved quietly among the peoples of the world, wearing aspects that enabled them to pass as eladrin or elf. “And during their wanderings, they found beauty, love, and grace in the other races — perhaps in less refined form than in their own people’s, but of no less virtue. Given the taint in their own house — the dark path of betrayal and chaos taken by their beloved Lolth, whose icy beauty stretched over hidden depravity — Corellon and Sehanine were amenable to a certain straightforward lack of refinement. “Some in the world still think of Corellon as an eladrin god and Sehanine as an elven deity, but over the ages, the two deities have deliberately moved to share their power with the nonfey, forging close alliances with gods whose ways they found congenial. Most notably, Sehanine helped Melora create the halflings, either to serve a special role in the Dawn War or as an unintended but welcome consequence of some great event (sages’ accounts on this question differ). Regardless of the reason for the halflings’ creation, neither deity had time to care for the new race during the fury of the Dawn War, so Avandra adopted the halflings and guided them through the hardest days of their infancy as a race. Through this connection, Avandra, Melora, and Sehanine strengthened their bonds of friendship, and Corellon joined their company easily. “In the aftermath of the Dawn War, when the gods were deciding how the world might be arranged once the fighting was done, Sehanine suggested that the exalted of Avandra and Melora would be welcome in Arvandor; though neither deity wanted a dominion of her own, exalted sworn to the two of them thus could dwell in a dominion when they chose to do so. This agreement strengthened ties not only among all four deities, but also between their respective clergy.” References Category:Arvandor (Imaginary place)